Green Alternative

For those who always wanted to live in an eco-friendly habitat but did not know who to talk to, Build-Inn is the answer. The Bangalore-based startup founded by Puja Arti and Rohan Shenoy provides complete solutions for construction and refurbishment using eco-friendly materials.

Their website mainly caters to young professionals within the age group of 25-40 years and supplies inputs from design to unskilled labour. “Due to the loan options available, a lot of young people are looking at buying a house and they are the ones most open to trying new things,” explains Shenoy.

Even though eco-friendly materials are cheaper than the standard building components, finding labour to do these jobs is expensive say the founders. “We are trying our best and have recently found a team who can do this for lower rates. People still look at this as a luxury and that is what we want to change,” says Arti.

The start-up has 40 service providers listed currently and will be expanding to 100 providers shortly. They charge a commission of 0.5-1% of the project value from the client, but they do pro bono too reveals Shenoy. “Our intent is propagating the use of alternative methods, so for budget projects where owners are open to new things, we charge a lump sum amount or do it for free as well,” he says.

Currently active only in Bangalore, Arti and Shenoy are looking to expand to other cities in Karnataka and Maharashtra over the next couple of years.